Starwood

It was love at first sight and the most unexpected encounter I’ve ever had at a hotel. Sally, a Chihuahua mix, was living large in the reception area of the Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa, looking for a guest to adopt as part of the hotel’s pet adoption program.
Sally let me take her for a walk around the property’s beautiful grounds and it was clear that we enjoyed …

Robert Esnault-Pelterie, a French aviation pioneer, was born on November 8, 1881. He developed the idea of ailerons, which allow “banking” of fixed-wing aircraft around the fuselage’s longitudinal axis and are essential in making turns when aloft.
The Hotel Kämp in Helsinki, Finland, opened its doors on November 1, 1887. The hotel is still in operation today, and is part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection of hotels.
The first flight in a rigid …

When Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts first announced plans to merge late last year, many wondered which of the company’s 30 brands would be combined after the merger.
The merger closed on September 22, making Marriott the world’s largest hotelier and the company recently provided an answer to the question: Marriott will keep all existing Starwood and Marriott brands.
The company’s CEO, Arne Sorenson, indicated this was the plan shortly …

Lobby Bar – A Concocted Conglomeration of FBT News and Views
Ground control to Major Tom. Join Jeremy Del Nero (greetings) in a look at some of the new features in Apple’s iOS 10. The flashlight now has adjustable brightness, which allows the user to put it in one of the following modes: low light, medium light, or bright light. If you enter a series of secret swipes across the screen, …

With Starwood Hotels and Resorts now part of Marriott International, members of both hoteliers’ guest loyalty programs have been wondering what will happen to their respective programs and – perhaps as importantly – to their points.
On Friday, Marriott said it plans to continue to operate both programs – Starwood Preferred Guest, or SPG, and Marriott Rewards – for at least the next two years before it eventually phases out SPG. …

It’s official. With the closing of its merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International became the world’s largest hotelier Friday.
The combined company brings together Marriott, Courtyard, and Ritz-Carlton brands with Starwood’s Sheraton, Westin, W, and St. Regis properties and will have over 1.1 million rooms in more than 5,500 hotels in 100 countries.
Also effective Friday, members of both hotel’s guest loyalty programs will be able to link their accounts. …

Marriott International announced Tuesday that its planned merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts had cleared its final hurdle – approval by Chinese regulators – and would close by Friday.
The combined entity will be the world’s largest hotelier.
“I know we’ll do great things together as The World’s Favorite Travel Company,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s CEO, at the time the merger was announced.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Starwood shareholders will …

In my first ever visit to Brooklyn, I found myself in the borough’s downtown area. Devoid of skyscrapers, at least by New York City standards, the Boerum Hill neighborhood is a short 15-minute subway ride from midtown Manhattan.
The Holiday Inn Brooklyn Downtown is a convenient pied-à-terre for anyone wishing to be in close proximity to New York City’s financial district (it’s just a couple of subway stops away) while providing …

Pan Am, the nation’s unofficial flag carrier and a cultural icon, ceased operations on Wednesday (December 4) after what could only be described as a tumultuous decade both for both the airline and the airline industry. It is the second major U.S. airline to cease operations this year.
Had Frequent Business Traveler existed in 1991, some 25 years ago, that could have been the lead paragraph of the top news story …